Filing in California

[MELLISSAMM]

I just filed bankruptcy on 10/30/11. I am married and my spouse did not file. Has anyone encountered any issues filing separately from their spouse? My spouse does have credit cards but since they were not under my name our attorney did not list them. I'm pretty stressed out.

[debee]

Haven't encountered any and the only issues that I know: his credit will be affected by yours if you have any joint debt, his half of community property comes into the bankruptcy estate, and his "separate" property can be liable for any "community" debt listed on the petition where he has liability (whereas after acquired "community" property cannot be).

Separate property = stuff he owned before you got hitched, anything he receives by gift or inheritance during the marriage, and anything that you guys title and set-up with two different lawyers as his "sole and separate property".

Otherwise, I see many benefits.

My husband and I were deliberate about debts and titles in the pre-planning months specifically so we could use the non-filing spouse's debt as an expense.

Hopefully your lawyer went over these points with you so there are no unwelcome surprises.

Hang in there, Mellissa! You're on your way to having a lot of JUNK behind you.

[MELLISSAMM]

Thank you for your advice. My attorney did list my husband's credit card payments in the marital adjustment part of the means test. I can't wait till I get this all over with.